Code Name: Shadow Wolf
by Rex J. Nibcore
Summary: Halo has just been destroyed, yet pieces are still floating around. And Reach has left Master Chief the last Spartan... Or is has it? And why is there human life signs on a Covenant ship?
1. Pro: 4 Grunts, 2 Jackals, and an Elite

[Rex's Notes: You could say I have researched for this fic a bit. I have read The Fall of Reach, am currently working on reading The Flood, and I own First Strike of the Halo book series. I can't wait for Halo 2 and I've had this idea for a story since about a year and a half ago. (Summer before my freshman year of high school when I was reading Fall of Reach.)] [Disclaimer: All names and information is taken from the game or the book. Makayla, however, is my own creation. Everything else is owned by X-Box, the authors, and Bungie.] Code Name: Shadow Wolf   
by Rex Rodentium Prologue:   
4 Grunts, 2 Jackals, and an Elite 

"Master Chief, I am getting readings of human life signs aboard a small Covenant ship." Cortana said, her voice filling the room where a man sat in his green armor. 

Beneath his helmet, eyebrows rose in half suspicion, and half amazement, "Life signs?" he asked. 

"Yes. They are fairly weak, but I am guessing from malnurishment." 

"The Covenant don't take prisoners." 

"Seems this is a bit different. There seems to be MJOLNIR armor on board." 

"That makes a bit more sense. Maybe they captured one a scientist to explain the technology to them. The real question is how they got a hold of the armor in the first place." 

Cortana didn't reply, leaving a short silence. 

"How many aboard?" 

"4 Grunts, 2 Jackals, and an Elite." 

"That's a bit unusual." 

"It's a small ship. A quite a bit smaller than this Longsword." 

"Get the ship ready for slip space." 

"But, Master Chief..." 

"That's an order, Cortana. After I retrieve the prisoner we will need to leave fast. Who knows how many other ships will be near by." The AI gave a sound of approval as she readied the Pelican for use.

"I have cracked the encryption codes for a map of the ship. I am feeding it into your monitor right now. The orange triangle is the prisoner." 

"All right." the Master Chief replied, moving slowly along. He heard the high pitched sounds of Grunts as they were moving down the corridor. Moving to the corner, he waited for a Grunt to pass by. When the first passed, he slammed the butt of his assault rifle into the life support it carried. The machinery instantly gave out and the Grunt was dead in seconds. Screeching, the other three began to retreat, one screaming, "RUN AWAY!" 

A few rounds from his rifle silenced them, leaving the cyan liquid on the halls steel floor. His HUD screen showed the prisoner was only thirty meters (about 90 ft.) away. Two Jackals ran towards him, having heard the screams of their cowardly fallen comrads. Squeezing the trigger he unloaded rounds on the two shielded warriors, and took out one before it had a chance to react. The rest of his ammunition was deflected by the shield. 

The two stared at each other, waiting for the other to make a move. If the Jackal would shoot, he would have to lower his shield a bit giving his enemy a chance to kill him. However, if he didn't, they might be stuck in the same positions for hours. As the Jackal was contemplating his options, the Spartan grabbed one of the dead Grunt's plasma rifles, powered it up, and shot his shield down. 

Its eyes widened as the shield temporarily disappeared. This gave the Master Chief just enough time to unload half of his rifle clip on the Jackal. With one last grunt, the Covenant warrior fell to the ground dead. Looking at the ammunition reading on his HUD he figured it was enough to take out an Elite, even without a headshot. 

"Six down, one big one to go," he muttered. 

In truth he was glad he didn't have to face a Hunter. They were more deadly in combat than Elites and had few weak points. It didn't help that one shot of their weapons would knock his shield into the red, meaning he'd need to recharge. One was bad enough by itself, but many times if there was one, there was another close by. Luckily, this would be close to a training mission for them. 

The Master Chief was drawing closer to his target as he walked at as brisk step down the narrow corridor. Orange numbers next to the orange marking triangle on his helmet were quickly scrolling down. In minutes he would be on top of the human they had discovered. Unfortunately, the MJOLNIR armor would be useless. Only Spartans could wear the armor without it crushing every last bone in their body. It would be best to let it be destroyed with the Covenant ship. 

"Cortana, I want you to try and hack into the ship's main frame so it will self-destruct. I am almost sure with the Elite's attitudes toward dying in battle that they would have that on their ships if they can take more of us out." 

"I'll work on that right now," the feminine voice replied through the intercom in his helmet. 

As soon as she had finished speaking, the super soldier found himself at the bridge. It seemed to consist of some type of floating light bridge surrounded by monitors. The last alien left on the ship seemed to be reading something on the screen. It obviously hadn't heard the screams of the six other Covenant, which were now all dead and continued to read the information as if nothing had happened. Of course, to the Elite, nothing had happened to cause concern. Taking careful aim at the Covenant's head, he squeezed the trigger, letting the rest of the armor piercing bullets to fly into an obvious weak spot of the Elite. Roaring in pain, the alien sunk to the floor dead on contact. 

"All Covenant are down," he said, a bit less of an edge on his voice than usual. 

"Good. The human prisoner should be 4 meters (about 12 ft.)to your right." 

Turning, Spartan 117 noticed a lump of what looked like some kind of makeshift blankets. The prisoner was under the blankets. "Hmm... I guess even the Covenant get cold once in a while," he thought to himself. 

Picking up the pile of blankets, he noticed that the weight was more than that of a normal human, much more. Figuring it was the blankets weighing it down, he carefully hoisted the bundle over his shoulder, with which side he assumed to be the head, facing forward. A pair of dark violet boots stuck out in back of him from under the blankets. Picking up weapons as he passed them, he quickly made his way back to the Pelican.

"Did you find the MJOLNIR armor?" Cortana asked curiously as the Pelican had been secured into the larger spacecraft. 

"No. Start the self-destruct sequence on the Covenant ship. It would be better if it ends up being destroyed." 

"I am on it." 

Slowly, placing the bundle on the floor, he began to unwrap it. Lost in his own little world, he did not really pay any attention to neither what he was doing nor what was in front of him. It wasn't until Cortana said something that he awoke from his dream like state. 

"Master Chief! I think you found the MJOLNIR armor." 

His eyes finally saw what they had been staring at as his brain began to quickly comprehend the figure that lay in front of him. Whoever it was, the person appeared wear identical armor to his, except for one aspect: the color. It was a dark violet color, almost black instead of the normal green. On top right of the chest plate there was a number and two words engraved, "116 - Shadow Wolf". 

"Another Spartan? But how?" 

"We should worry about that later. There is no telling how long he's gone without food and water." 

Master Chief pulled off Spartan 116's helmet to reveal a woman's face surrounded by a little longer than chin length brown that curled under at the bottom. 

"Cortana, I believe it is a she."

[So did you like it? I know it's a cliffy, but most prologues are! Hehe! I'm so evil! w Don't ya love it? Don't worry though! I'm going to work on this quite a bit! Vale, peeps! And review! The more reviews the faster I get 'Chapter 1: Spartan 116 - Shadow Wolf' posted!] 


	2. Ch 1: SPARTAN 116 Shadow Wolf

[Disclaimer: All names and information is taken from the game or the book. Makayla, however, is my own creation. Everything else is owned by X-Box, the authors, and Bungie.]   
  
[Rex's Notes: I've gotten 5 total reviews! WOOTUS! It's a big surprise. I have never had so many people like one of my multi-chapter stories so well. I know this late being put up. **Very late.** I apologize. Someone asked for a romance/lemon. The first part I can do, but the second part will get me banned from That's already happened once, and I don't want it to happen again.]   
  
Code Name: Shadow Wolf   
Rex Rodentium   
  
Chapter 2:   
Suspictions and Stories 

The male Spartan woke up slowly, and nearly jumped out of his seat. Makayla was standing in front of him, her nose centimeters for his. 

"What are you doing?" he growled. 

She just smiled, "You were muttering something in your sleep. I couldn't hear what you were saying so I came closer." 

"That could be considered invasion of privacy." 

She shrugged, "So? I know so little about you." 

"I would like to keep it that way," 

"Then I won't tell you anything about me," she said like a defiant child. 

"I don't care," he replied. 

There was a long silence. All that could be heard was the gentle hum of the ship's engine. Both Spartans were glaring at each other. The woman finally broke the silence; "I have been trying to be nice. As I told you, I am not use to being around people." 

The Master Chief sighed. He wasn't quite sure how to reply or what to say in return. Choosing his words carefully, he decided it might be a good time to interrogate her, "So, how were you brought into the Spartan program?" 

"I was sort of lucky," John rose an eyebrow at this, "I was never snatched from my family. Being an orphan, I had figured someone was adopting me and that I would make new friends." 

"Why didn't you?" 

"I ran." 

"You ran," he repeated. 

She nodded. 

"Away?" 

"Yep." 

"Why?" 

"I'm not really sure." 

"You aren't sure?" 

"What are you, an echo? Yes." 

"I don't understand." 

"The feeling is mutual." 

The Master Chief looked at the woman's face. She looked sad and confused, no longer happy with a child-like innocence. He was never really bothered by losing his childhood, but Makayla seemed to be the opposite. It was as if she was trying to relive it. 

"They found me of course. It was late evening when they did discover my location. I ended up getting supper anyway." 

"Where were you?" he asked, remembering how he and his team had gone without dinner that day. 

"Lounging between the two branches of a shady oak. They was my dandelion chain hanging down." Carefully, the woman pulled out a dried dandelion from her tank top. It had obviously been dead for many years, but the way it dried left color in the petals, "I kept this one for good luck. I guess it came in handy." 

"You were lucky. My team finished last on the course that day so we didn't receive any supper." 

"I received dinner because they were impressed with my evasiveness. Come to think of it, I had always won when we played hide-and-go-seek at the orphanage. They usually gave up on finding me after a while. 

"Anyway, the next few days more guards were placed around the perimeter. All of them were incredibly observant, or they were supposed to be. I still got past them. Of course, when I got hungry, I would let them find me," she said with a small smile. 

John let the corners of his mouth twitch up slightly. 

"It was as if I was puppy who would run away, but find my way back when I was hungry. And the owner (that's my analogy for the program directors) was so happy to see me that they weren't mad and just instead fed me. 

"After the first three times they realized I would be perfect for evasive maneuvering and scouting; mostly in solo missions. They specially trained me to use a sniper rifle, and if the need would arise, how use a knife in combat as well as Tai Chi Quan." [For those who play Dead or Alive, Tai Chi Quan is the style of martial arts Lei Fang uses! ] Getting up quickly, she began to perform a few moves. 

John smiled as much as he ever did, which was just the corners of his mouth twitching up. She moved gracefully in a fluid motion, but that was probably the idea of Tai Chi Quan. His keen ears picked up the sound of her heavy breathing and he noticed her flushed face. The steel was obviously cold under her bare feet and goosebumps were forming on her arms. 

"Lay back down. You are obviously still weak and most likely feverish." 

Makayla scowled but sat down on the makeshift bed. She felt as though she was being treated as child. If she had been sick as a child (whether it was at the orphanage or the program) she would be told to "Stop being a baby and toughen up!" (Or something to that affect.) After her mind pondered it over some more, she realized that he was not treating her like child. The Master Chief was just looking out for her well being. 

"Thank you," she said softly. 

Needless to say, the man was a bit surprised and confused, but, as always, didn't show it. 

"You're welcome." 

"I think that my mind just wants to block out the killing, so instead, it led my personality to be that of innocence, or child-like. It's almost like I'm trying to regain the innocence that I lost at a young age." 

Makayla was holding back her tears as she had been taught. Her face was stone cold, but her eyes... Her eyes told it all. John realized that she had subconsciously been wearing a mask, which was now exchanged with that of a military veteran. 

"Now what?" she asked. 

"What do you mean?" 

"We're just going to float around?" 

"No. I've been searching for survivors on Halo. We found you while doing that." 

"Anyone?" 

The Master Chief shook his head. 

"I'm sorry." 

"There is nothing we can do to change it." 

She looked at his armor for a minute, "I think your armor is in serious need of repair." He looked at his armor that now had scratches, dents, and other signs of wear; "I could help you take it off." 

It was simple enough to take off the gauntlets, helmet, boots, and pauldrons, but the greaves and cuirass were quite a bit harder without another set of hands. 

Before Makayla even stood up, she blushed a bit; realizing there would be nothing underneath. 

"Do you have some clothes on board?" 

He nodded. 

"Maybe you should go get them." 

"All right," he replied, confused by why she looked so embarrassed. 

SPARTAN-116 let out a sigh of relief. Unlike most UNSC personnel, she was not use to changing in front of people, and vice versa. Then again, she rarely changed her clothes. There really wasn't a need to with armor in place. 

The Master Chief returned with a stack of neatly pressed clothes with a pair of polished black shoes on top. Makayla couldn't help but mentally raise an eyebrow at them. They were on a ship in the middle of nowhere as far as she was concerned, yet he looked as though he was ready for inspection. 

"Let's get started then," Makayla said nervously. 

John pulled off the heavy boots before they did anything else. Moving in back of him, the woman waited until he was done to begin working on the cuirass. She'd leave the greeves for last. Both moved quickly and efficiently as taught, though her eyes couldn't help but wander over his pale muscular body. There were scars in a few places from before their MJOLNIR armor had been created, but it was far less that Makayla. A bright blush was raising to her cheeks when she realized she had finished pulling off his greaves. 

"Shit!" she yelped and turned around, her face bright red. 

"What's wrong?" the Master Chief asked, looking confused as he pulled on some underwear and then his pants. 

"I saw you butt!" 

"So? Spartans see each other nude all the time." 

"Not me!" she squeaked, still blushing bright red after her mind had decided he had a nice butt, "GAH! NO! You aren't supposed to think that!" 

"What now?" he asked the corners of his mouth twitching up slightly. 

"Nothing! Just put the rest of your clothes on please!" 

"You really were isolated." 

"I told you that already!" she said, having turned around, hoping the bright red color would leave her cheeks. 

"All right," he muttered, buttoning up his shirt before turning back around, "I'm decent." 

Makayla looked at him and then down at herself, "We are complete opposites." 

"We are, aren't we?" he said. 

He was surprised how he was starting to be more talkative. What was this girl doing to him? The last time something like this happened, he was a teenager and Dr. Hasley said it was just hormones and to ignore it. Could it be hormones again? That was supposed to pass, wasn't it? 

"Um... John? Are you okay?" 

The female Spartan knew what was happening to her. She had snuck on and hacked into a few computers as a teen and read stories that had a questionable nature to them. Some were described as being 'lemons'. Whenever she read them she got a strange warm sensation in the pit of her stomach. Now remembering what she had seen, it was coming back and the blush returned. 

"I could ask the same of you." 

"I'm fine," she replied. 

"Me too." 

"You aren't going to become all quiet again, are you?" 

He shrugged a bit. Leaning against the steel walls, Makayla just sighed, "You are." 

"Is that bad?" he asked, studying her face. 

"Not necessarily," she said slowly, dark eyes staring at the cold floor. 

John found his eyes drawn to her lips and strange thoughts erupting in his mind, _'What would it be like to kiss her? What would they taste like?'_

Makayla could almost feel his gaze, but didn't lift her eyes. She was just going to have to accept that they were complete opposites. The Master Chief was quiet, pale, and everything that was expected of a perfect soldier, while she was talkative, tan and a complete renegade most of the time. He was given strict orders and protocols; she was ordered to complete her mission at all costs and there were no rules. 

The female Spartan was jarred from her thoughts as she felt a strong hand lift her chin. Her dark eyes met his and she shivered slightly under his intense gaze. And then she was feeling sparks as his lips softly pressed against hers. _'Maybe it's true about opposites attracting.' _

"Master Chief," Cortana said over the intercom, "I need to talk with you." 

John quickly pulled away, standing a bit rigid. Had he just kissed her? 

"What is it Cortana?" 

"I need to talk to you. Some new classified information has been discovered." 

"Fine," he replied, gruffly, walking off leaving Makayla standing in shock. 

_'Was I day dreaming or did he really kiss me?'_   
  
[That's the end of Chapter 2. I just had to leave you on a cliffy! XD Don't you hate me? Chapter 3: Mental Health should be up in about 2 weeks. School is starting back up for me.]   
  
Dictionary: 

Cuirass - armor that covers the chest and abdomen as well as the backside of that. 

Gauntlets - gloves that are usually made of heavy leather, iron, steel, or anything else that is used in the making of armor. 

Greaves - often meaning armor that covers the shins; in this case, it refers to the armor that covers from the knees to the waist. 

Pauldrons - armor that covers the shoulders and the upper arm. 


	3. Ch 2: Suspicions and Stories

[Disclaimer: All names and information is taken from the game or the book. Makayla, however, is my own creation. Everything else is owned by X-Box, the authors, and Bungie.]   
  
[Rex's Notes: I've gotten 5 total reviews! WOOTUS! It's a big surprise. I have never had so many people like one of my multi-chapter stories so well. I know this late being put up. **Very late.** I apologize. Someone asked for a romance/lemon. The first part I can do, but the second part will get me banned from That's already happened once, and I don't want it to happen again.]   
  
Code Name: Shadow Wolf   
Rex Rodentium   
  
Chapter 2:   
Suspictions and Stories 

The male Spartan woke up slowly, and nearly jumped out of his seat. Makayla was standing in front of him, her nose centimeters for his. 

"What are you doing?" he growled. 

She just smiled, "You were muttering something in your sleep. I couldn't hear what you were saying so I came closer." 

"That could be considered invasion of privacy." 

She shrugged, "So? I know so little about you." 

"I would like to keep it that way," 

"Then I won't tell you anything about me," she said like a defiant child. 

"I don't care," he replied. 

There was a long silence. All that could be heard was the gentle hum of the ship's engine. Both Spartans were glaring at each other. The woman finally broke the silence; "I have been trying to be nice. As I told you, I am not use to being around people." 

The Master Chief sighed. He wasn't quite sure how to reply or what to say in return. Choosing his words carefully, he decided it might be a good time to interrogate her, "So, how were you brought into the Spartan program?" 

"I was sort of lucky," John rose an eyebrow at this, "I was never snatched from my family. Being an orphan, I had figured someone was adopting me and that I would make new friends." 

"Why didn't you?" 

"I ran." 

"You ran," he repeated. 

She nodded. 

"Away?" 

"Yep." 

"Why?" 

"I'm not really sure." 

"You aren't sure?" 

"What are you, an echo? Yes." 

"I don't understand." 

"The feeling is mutual." 

The Master Chief looked at the woman's face. She looked sad and confused, no longer happy with a child-like innocence. He was never really bothered by losing his childhood, but Makayla seemed to be the opposite. It was as if she was trying to relive it. 

"They found me of course. It was late evening when they did discover my location. I ended up getting supper anyway." 

"Where were you?" he asked, remembering how he and his team had gone without dinner that day. 

"Lounging between the two branches of a shady oak. They was my dandelion chain hanging down." Carefully, the woman pulled out a dried dandelion from her tank top. It had obviously been dead for many years, but the way it dried left color in the petals, "I kept this one for good luck. I guess it came in handy." 

"You were lucky. My team finished last on the course that day so we didn't receive any supper." 

"I received dinner because they were impressed with my evasiveness. Come to think of it, I had always won when we played hide-and-go-seek at the orphanage. They usually gave up on finding me after a while. 

"Anyway, the next few days more guards were placed around the perimeter. All of them were incredibly observant, or they were supposed to be. I still got past them. Of course, when I got hungry, I would let them find me," she said with a small smile. 

John let the corners of his mouth twitch up slightly. 

"It was as if I was puppy who would run away, but find my way back when I was hungry. And the owner (that's my analogy for the program directors) was so happy to see me that they weren't mad and just instead fed me. 

"After the first three times they realized I would be perfect for evasive maneuvering and scouting; mostly in solo missions. They specially trained me to use a sniper rifle, and if the need would arise, how use a knife in combat as well as Tai Chi Quan." [For those who play Dead or Alive, Tai Chi Quan is the style of martial arts Lei Fang uses! ] Getting up quickly, she began to perform a few moves. 

John smiled as much as he ever did, which was just the corners of his mouth twitching up. She moved gracefully in a fluid motion, but that was probably the idea of Tai Chi Quan. His keen ears picked up the sound of her heavy breathing and he noticed her flushed face. The steel was obviously cold under her bare feet and goosebumps were forming on her arms. 

"Lay back down. You are obviously still weak and most likely feverish." 

Makayla scowled but sat down on the makeshift bed. She felt as though she was being treated as child. If she had been sick as a child (whether it was at the orphanage or the program) she would be told to "Stop being a baby and toughen up!" (Or something to that affect.) After her mind pondered it over some more, she realized that he was not treating her like child. The Master Chief was just looking out for her well being. 

"Thank you," she said softly. 

Needless to say, the man was a bit surprised and confused, but, as always, didn't show it. 

"You're welcome." 

"I think that my mind just wants to block out the killing, so instead, it led my personality to be that of innocence, or child-like. It's almost like I'm trying to regain the innocence that I lost at a young age." 

Makayla was holding back her tears as she had been taught. Her face was stone cold, but her eyes... Her eyes told it all. John realized that she had subconsciously been wearing a mask, which was now exchanged with that of a military veteran. 

"Now what?" she asked. 

"What do you mean?" 

"We're just going to float around?" 

"No. I've been searching for survivors on Halo. We found you while doing that." 

"Anyone?" 

The Master Chief shook his head. 

"I'm sorry." 

"There is nothing we can do to change it." 

She looked at his armor for a minute, "I think your armor is in serious need of repair." He looked at his armor that now had scratches, dents, and other signs of wear; "I could help you take it off." 

It was simple enough to take off the gauntlets, helmet, boots, and pauldrons, but the greaves and cuirass were quite a bit harder without another set of hands. 

Before Makayla even stood up, she blushed a bit; realizing there would be nothing underneath. 

"Do you have some clothes on board?" 

He nodded. 

"Maybe you should go get them." 

"All right," he replied, confused by why she looked so embarrassed. 

SPARTAN-116 let out a sigh of relief. Unlike more UNFC personnel, she was not use to changing in front of people, and vice versa. Then again, she rarely changed her clothes. There really wasn't a need to with armor in place. 

The Master Chief returned with a stack of neatly pressed clothes with a pair of polished black shoes on top. Makayla couldn't help but mentally raise an eyebrow at them. They were on a ship in the middle of nowhere as far as she was concerned, yet he looked as though he was ready for inspection. 

"Let's get started then," Makayla said nervously. 

John pulled off the heavy boots before they did anything else. Moving in back of him, the woman waited until he was done to begin working on the cuirass. She'd leave the greeves for last. Both moved quickly and efficiently as taught, though her eyes couldn't help but wander over his pale muscular body. There were scars in a few places from before their MJOLNIR armor had been created, but it was far less that Makayla. A bright blush was raising to her cheeks when she realized she had finished pulling off his greaves. 

"Shit!" she yelped and turned around, her face bright red. 

"What's wrong?" the Master Chief asked, looking confused as he pulled on some underwear and then his pants. 

"I saw you butt!" 

"So? Spartans see each other nude all the time." 

"Not me!" she squeaked, still blushing bright red after her mind had decided he had a nice butt, "GAH! NO! You aren't supposed to think that!" 

"What now?" he asked the corners of his mouth twitching up slightly. 

"Nothing! Just put the rest of your clothes on please!" 

"You really were isolated." 

"I told you that already!" she said, having turned around, hoping the bright red color would leave her cheeks. 

"All right," he muttered, buttoning up his shirt before turning back around, "I'm decent." 

Makayla looked at him and then down at herself, "We are complete opposites." 

"We are, aren't we?" he said. 

He was surprised how he was starting to be more talkative. What was this girl doing to him? The last time something like this happened, he was a teenager and Dr. Hasley said it was just hormones and to ignore it. Could it be hormones again? That was supposed to pass, wasn't it? 

"Um... John? Are you okay?" 

The female Spartan knew what was happening to her. She had snuck on and hacked into a few computers as a teen and read stories that had a questionable nature to them. Some were described as being 'lemons'. Whenever she read them she got a strange warm sensation in the pit of her stomach. Now remembering what she had seen, it was coming back and the blush returned. 

"I could ask the same of you." 

"I'm fine," she replied. 

"Me too." 

"You aren't going to become all quiet again, are you?" 

He shrugged a bit. Leaning against the steel walls, Makayla just sighed, "You are." 

"Is that bad?" he asked, studying her face. 

"Not necessarily," she said slowly, dark eyes staring at the cold floor. 

John found his eyes drawn to her lips and strange thoughts erupting in his mind, _'What would it be like to kiss her? What would they taste like?'_

Makayla could almost feel his gaze, but didn't lift her eyes. She was just going to have to accept that they were complete opposites. The Master Chief was quiet, pale, and everything that was expected of a perfect soldier, while she was talkative, tan and a complete renegade most of the time. He was given strict orders and protocols; she was ordered to complete her mission at all costs and there were no rules. 

The female Spartan was jarred from her thoughts as she felt a strong hand lift her chin. Her dark eyes met his and she shivered slightly under his intense gaze. And then she was feeling sparks as his lips softly pressed against hers. _'Maybe it's true about opposites attracting.' _

"Master Chief," Cortana said over the intercom, "I need to talk with you." 

John quickly pulled away, standing a bit rigid. Had he just kissed her? 

"What is it Cortana?" 

"I need to talk to you. Some new classified information has been discovered." 

"Fine," he replied, gruffly, walking off leaving Makayla standing in shock. 

_'Was I day dreaming or did he really kiss me?'_   
  
[That's the end of Chapter 2. I just had to leave you on a cliffy! XD Don't you hate me? Chapter 3: Mental Health should be up in about 2 weeks. School is starting back up for me.]   
  
Dictionary: 

Cuirass - armor that covers the chest and abdomen as well as the backside of that. 

Gauntlets - gloves that are usually made of heavy leather, iron, steel, or anything else that is used in the making of armor. 

Greaves - often meaning armor that covers the shins; in this case, it refers to the armor that covers from the knees to the waist. 

Pauldrons - armor that covers the shoulders and the upper arm. 


	4. Ch 3: Mental Health or

[Disclaimer: All names and information is taken from the game or the book. Makayla, however, is my own creation. Everything else is owned by X-Box, the authors, and Bungie.]

[Rex's Notes: Yes. There is romance now in this fic. It should add to the drama and as requested there'll be action soon. I'm trying to figure out where I'm going with this as I write it. I'm one of those people who believes in the "write first, think and revise later" method.

Some people need to realize this was written before the third Halo book came out! I had written this when Fall of Reach was new. It is also suppose to be an alternative to First Strike.

People also say I wouldn't necessarily be frozen for writing a lemon. --;; That's beside the point. I just don't want to make it go there. Sorry. If you really want me to, I could always somehow write one and e-mail it to you.

I'll admit some of the dialogue last chapter was a bit odd. Sorry. Most of that was written during lunchtime the school year before and ended up a bit odd. The suit disassembly was all spur of the moment after typing up what I had written in my story binder.

I've been rereading Fall of Reach and I found that Spartans could 'virtually see in the dark'. Here's the thing. These findings were after they did the augmentations. The surgery was done before the augmentation. So she can see perfectly in the dark.

I am a bit annoyed by the fact that _B.R. Wells_ pointed out, what had already been stated that UNSC personnel are use to seeing each other nude. **I know**. It was also explained that Makayla was not use to it because of her solo missions and isolation. That and she never had the luxury of not wearing something under her suit. It's all there in the text. Normally, I don't mind constructive reviews, but I **hate** (and I don't hate much) when people tell me I'm doing something wrong when it is explained to as why!

Another person pointed out that her hair shouldn't be as long as it is. I have read the book and I do know about their policy. You also have to remember SPARTAN-116 is a solo agent and was often on missions for weeks at a time collecting intelligence and such. It was either pointed out last chapter or will be this chapter that protocol has been a bit different for her. Besides, no one is really supposed to know she even exists. However, I do thank _Harlequinny_ for pointing this out and about there being no bridge on a ship the size of a Pelican. That has been fixed. As for Cortana not putting two and two together with the human and the armor, in the books, it mentioned as smart AI get older, they produce errors. Let's just blame it on that. ;;

Someone else commented on the kissing. They're human and they still have emotions. You can't whack that out of someone no matter how hard you try, and believe me, I've tried.

Also, I am sorry this is late. I was sick for a whole week and between that and school, well, you get the picture.

As always, I appreciate the reviews and I plan to fix any errors. I would list names, but I've taken up a whole bunch of space the way it is, and you probably want a story already!]

Code Name: Shadow Wolf

By Rex Rodentium

Chapter 3:

Mental Health (or 'You Want to What?!')

The Master Chief was grumbling the whole way to the deck, "This had better be important," he barked at the hologram.

"You're out of your suit!"

"What is it you need to talk to me about?"

"It's Makayla."

"What about her?" he asked, looking a bit curious.

"She is emotionally unstable. I am guessing even more so than when these files were recorded."

"Pull them up."

The Spartan skipped down through the file name and other protocols until he found what he was looking for.

_SPARTAN-116, now currently twenty-three has been acting oddly. One minute she is smiling and acting like a child, the next she acts like a veteran soldier and is incredibly quiet and cold. I worry that the isolation has caused her to develop manic depression or maybe even bipolar disorder._

Medication is out of the question, unfortunately. I'm unsure of what kind of side affects it might cause. And if I told her that the night vision isn't really in her helmet, but something we engineered in her brain and an experimental surgery with her eyes; she would probably flip out. I hate keeping it from her, but she is too important too our espionage and intelligence gathering plans. I just hope she doesn't have a mental break down, especially out in the field.

John was a bit startled, though he didn't show it, "Experimental eye surgery?"

"I found the report if you want to see it."

"No," he replied apparently a bit angry by the way that his jaw was set.

"Are you going to tell her?" Cortana asked, studying the Spartan's face.

"No. She is best not knowing. Dr. Hasley had a reason for not telling her."

"You seem a bit different," the AI said slowly, eyeing him, "At least ever since Makayla showed up."

The Master Chief shot her his patented glare.

"Fine, fine. It's none of my business. I'll go back to sorting through and compressing the Halo data."

"We should probably start heading back to Earth," he said, before leaving the deck and going back to where Makayla was.

"What was it?" she asked.

"Just new information about Halo."

"All right," Makayla said with a nod, looking nervous.

"I'm sorry about what happened earlier."

"Why are you sorry?"

"Well..." he started, before closing his mouth. _'Why am I sorry?!'_

"You were acting human."

The corners of his mouth twitched up slightly, "I think you are right. I just didn't mean to offend you or anything."

Blushing, the woman shook her head, "Actually, it was a pleasant experience."

Twitching up a bit more into what was as close to a smile that the Master Chief would ever wear, he kissed her again. This time, Makayla kissed him back softly, surprising both of them. He pulled away slowly.

The woman's expression turned thoughtful. "Are you sure we should just head back to Earth?"

"What else is there to do?"

"Kick Covenant ass."

The Master Chief stared at her for a moment; "You are still recovering!"

"I am fine,' she replied stubbornly.

"Even if you were," he began, "Just targeting a few ships isn't going to hurt them that much."

"What if we find one of their bases of operations?"

"And how do you expect we do that?"

"I am sure there are other Covenant ships patrolling the area in hopes of finding survivors."

"Are you suggesting we have Cortana hack in and find the location of one of these bases?"

"Or I can," she replied, "That is my job."

John scratched the back of his head a bit, something he wasn't use to doing, "The information from Halo could give us quite an edge over the Covenant if we get it back to Earth."

Thinking on her feet, as every Spartan had been taught to do, she kissed him softly, smiling to herself a bit. When she pulled away, John just shook his head. However, she spotted the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

"Fine," he replied, "One ship. If we do not find a base, then we are going to Earth."

"Oh thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Makayla squealed and hugged him.

"I am only doing this because you were so persuasive," he replied.

She grinned, "I can be much more persuasive if need be."

He raised an eyebrow, his tone almost playful, "Oh really?"

"Yes. Really."

"I like the sounds of that," he whispered.

"I thought you would. However, work before pleasure."

"Fine," he said, almost sounding disappointed, but he knew it was their duty, and duty came before everything else, "Any suggestions?"

"We get eight hours of sleep and then get suited up. We should probably try to stay undetected if possible."

"You go off to bed. I'll inform Cortana."

"All right," Makayla replied, yawning a bit and heading off to bed. She was still a bit weak from being sick, but after eight hours of sleep, she would be good as new, "Night John."

"Good night, Makayla."

"Let me get this straight," the AI said, putting her hands on her hips, "116 wants to go after a Covenant ship and hack into it to find the location of a base?"

"That's pretty much the whole gist of it."

"We should be heading back to Earth with the Halo information!"

"I know, but..." He scratched the brown stubble of hair on his head, "She is quite persuasive."

"Persuasive?"

"Just try to keep us undetected, all right?"

"Fine," she replied, watching as the Master Chief turned to leave, "He isn't'... No... That's just absurd," she muttered to herself.

Exactly eight hours later, Makayla woke up to find the Master Chief lying next to her. His head was propped up on his hand, which in turn was propped up by his elbow. "Good morning."

"Morning, if you could even call it that," she replied, stretching a bit, "What were you doing?"

"Watching you sleep."

The woman blushed, "For how long?"

"Not very long."

"We should probably get you suited up first."

"What about your armor? Doesn't it need repairs?"

"I'll work on that after you're suited up. Chances are it'll take a bit to find the Covenant. They only pop up when you don't want them," she replied, going to where she had stacked their armor, "The energy shields and the HUD still function properly and that is all I really need. It is just a few other little things that I have problems with."

"Won't you need help getting into your suit?"

"Nope," she replied, "Mine was designed to be easily put on by one person. Well, easier than the normal suits. Less talk, more undressing, but keep your slacks on until I get the cuirass totally on."

"You need to get over seeing someone naked."

"It's not my fault I was trained in isolation. Very little human contact, remember?"

"We need to get you use to seeing others naked, because I am pretty sure they're going to put you with me and some other UNSC personnel and you'll have to get use to it."

"What?" Makayla said, looking horrified, but still kept her back to him.

"It's true and you know it."

"Let's just worry about that later. We need to get you suited up."

He quickly began to undress as the woman checked his equipment over. There didn't seem to be any major glitches or problems with his armor. Looking up, she blushed, seeing the top half of him and noticing it was bare.

"That's a mean trick to pull."

"Who said it was a trick?"

"It seems like one to me."

"It's basically getting use to seeing others naked. I doubt you'd be as uncomfortable if I were a woman."

She fell silent, contemplating his comment, "Well, no. But that's because they don't have something hanging between their legs!"

"Just put the armor on already," he replied, a bit annoyed.

"Fine," she grumbled, placing the greaves on first, keeping her eyes on either the armor of his upper body.

It didn't take long until he was suited up except for his helmet. She glared at him, "Happy now?"

"Not quite."

"What now?" she grunted.

His eyes seemed to smirk as he kissed her softly, holding her gently, knowing that one false move and he could seriously injure her despite the enhancements. Makayla smiled softly, "Is that your way of saying 'thank you?"

"You could say that."

She kissed him back quickly, "That's a 'your welcome' then."

The corners of his mouth twitched up slightly, "Try to fix your suit pretty quick. Just incase."

She smirked and saluted, "Yes, sir!"

Pulling on his helmet, he made his way to the deck. Cortana's form appeared on the black disk, "Now we're suited up again, aren't we?"

"We are looking for a Covenant ship. It would be stupid to finally intercept one and not be in armor," he replied, nonchalantly.

"I see."

Makayla sat working on her armor with a few tools she had that were carried in a built in compartment of her suit. She bit her lip as she turned a screw like item a bit. "Stupid Covenant," she muttered, "Just had to come along and try to eliminate mankind."

It took a good part of two hours before everything seemed to be fixed and up to fighting standards. As she finished putting on her greaves and boots, a familiar voice came over the PA system.

"Covenant ship spotted! Have your suit on and get to the bridge on the double!" the Master Chief's voice said.

"Shit!" she muttered, pulling the rest of her suit on and running to the bridge, "As always, they come when you don't want them."

[I have an interesting question. Should I somehow bring in Linda and others from First Strike? Tell me in your review or you can always e-mail me. I love getting e-mail... Unless you're trying to sell me something. --; You are not getting my $55 for the Limited Edition Halo 2! Forget it! MINE! .'

Anyway, I'm going to say the next chapter will be up in a month. Sorry, but I have reports, papers, and tests to work on. And friends and a boyfriend to hang out with.]


	5. Ch 4: When The Bough Breaks

[Rex's Notes: I have no idea how long it's been. I think close to four years. And I'm still getting reviews. I started this when I was a freshman in high school and I'm now a freshman in college. I'll probably go back and rewrite some of the chapters. Anyway, here goes nothing!

Code Name: Shadow Wolf

By Rex J. Nibcore

Chapter 4:

When the Bough Breaks

"All clear so far," Makayla whispered over a secure channel.

A blue acknowledgement light winked on in her head set. The Master Chief spoke very little if he could help it when it came to missions. He preferred to let his actions speak for him.

SPARTAN-116's armor seemed to easily blend in with the strange purple metal that made up most of the Covenant's ships. The sound of metal on metal became louder and louder. Her stomach became queasy and she felt light-headed. Suddenly, memories were flashing back to her.

_Makayla moved slowly down the corridor of a Covenant ship. Originally, she had been assigned to take a Covenant ship, but after she failed to make contact a few days later they passed the mission onto Master Chief and the other Spartans. She had been confident… Too confident._

"_This is too easy," she muttered to herself as she took out a dozen Grunts with a fragmentation grenade. Her shields had taken a bit of a hit from the explosion that occurred, but she didn't worry about it. Two Jackals had run to the aid of their fallen comrads. Their energy shields were in place and she would have to find just the right angle for her shot to do any damage._

Suddenly, her shield monitor turned red as she felt something hit the back of her head. She felt the blunt end of a plasma rifle hit the back of her neck before her vision became black.

The sound of armor piercing bullets leaving an assault rifle and tearing through armor and flesh woke the woman from her memory. She took a deep breath. A concerned voice came over the intercom, "You okay?"  
"Yeah."

"You want me to lead?"

"No."

"All right…"  
Closing her eyes for a second, she forced herself to relax. Figuring she had gained her focus, she moved farther down the hall. '_I can do this. This is just like every other mission I've been on. Sneak in, get information, and get out.'_  
A spray of bullets swept past her, some hitting her energy shield and bounced off. When she opened her eyes she found three Elites lying dead on the floor with slugs embedded in their heads.  
The Master Chief walked quickly past her.  
"What are you…"  
"I'm taking over," he said simply, in a gruff voice.  
Makayla suddenly felt like a total failure. Twice she would have been dead at the hands of the enemy. It was as if she had suddenly become a helpless civilian. It scared her more than anything else had in her life. Having been adopted into the program had been the best thing to have ever happened to her. It meant she belonged somewhere. And a civilian life...

'_Ok. Get it together 116! You were trained for this sort of thing!'_

Taking a deep breath, she cleared her mind so that she only heard the hum of the space craft, the clink of metal against metal, the beat of her heart... It was beating fast... Way to fast...Almost as it had when John had kissed her.

A Grunt turned the corner and came in straight view of the two Spartans. Letting out one of its shrill cries it began to run away, "INTRUDERS! INTRU…" There was a thump as an armor piercing round drilled through its head, tearing the nitrogen breathing mask on its way out.

More Grunts quickly appeared, obviously surprised by the sound of their comrade's cries. Two Jackals joined them, holding their shields up, ready to be fired upon. With six total Grunts, the small aliens seemed much more confident. "Attack!" one yelled, before charging.

The front most Spartan unloaded his assault rifle on the Grunts while the one in back of him pulled out her standard issue pistol and used the scope to shoot through the hole in the front of the Jackal's shields. The Grunts were mowed down in a stunning blaze of fire while after two pops; one of the Jackals was down. Before the second was even able to shoot after moving the shield it held, it received a bullet to the brain.

Makayla let out a sigh, smiling softly. It was like it was all coming back. She was getting into her zone. The Master Chief simply began to collect the weapons and any extra ammo he could from one of the Needlers.

"Get down!" Makayla screamed, knocking her fellow soldier to the ground as a blast from a laser cannon flew over them, causing their shields to flicker and go out.

"What the…" he grunted, noticing his shields go out.

"Hunters," she said simply, getting up and strafing to her left, aiming for the exposed florescent orange skin.

John raised an eyebrow at her sudden change. It seemed as if she had someone how slipped into another persona. She was paying attention more so than he even was. He wasn't sure if that was even possible, but then again he had been keeping an eye on her, though he'd have never told her that. Makayla had just been so fragile when he found her. Of course, she tried to act tough most of the time when she was able to keep it up, but she wasn't very good at acting. Now... Now she was gliding seamlessly into a military mindset. It was a mindset of pure destruction of the enemy that had caused her so many problems.

"Keep their attention while I take them out," she said simply, rolling out of the way of a blast that melted part of one of the corridor's wall.

Her complete focus was on the soft exposed flesh of the Hunter's side. Grabbing one of the dead Grunt's Needlers she fired at the area before her HUD could even form a crosshair for the weapon. It took a few minutes before the purple needles exploded. A roar of pain erupted from the Hunter who had been wounded.

The other hunter had his back turned towards her and was trying to charge its laser cannon while shielding itself from the male Spartan's spray of bullets. Without thinking, Makayla emptied the remaining cartridge of needles into the back being sure to fire them along the creature's spinal cord. Backing away, she waited for the explosion and was rewarded with a spray of bright orange carnage. Another cry of pain was heard from the remaining Hunter upon loosing its partner. It was all the time the Master Chief needed to send him to join his companion.

The laser cannon discharged as it hit the ground and somehow hit the same place where the armor plated walls had been melted slightly. Now it was a fairly good sized gap which a pair of low ranked Grunts were peering through with mild curiosity That same curiosity quickly turned to terror at the sight of the two enemy soldiers in their midst. "Run away!" one screamed, waddling away quickly from the hole while the other stood frozen in terror only to have its head smashed in with the butt of a gun which sent a sickening crack through the hall.

"Nooo!" screamed the Grunt, stopping a second to mourn before continuing its half-run, half-waddle down the corridor. An Elite looked at it curiously as it came around the bend, moving it's mandibles in what could be considered slight confusion. Shrugging it off, it moved down the hall to be greeted with armor piercing bullets through the helmet. The last thought it had before the bullets struck was maybe the Grunts weren't so stupid for running away.

Picking up only full ammo cartridges and reloading her weapon to max capacity, she noticed the spray of orange blood on her right gauntlet. She didn't seem to care in the least and just continued to reload the Needler. The weapon was slow but she felt if she could hold out long enough the results were devastating. The Master Chief on the other hand seemed to prefer quick fire weapons that caused damage quickly. Both had their advantages and disadvantages.

"Let's go," he said, looking both ways through the hole in the wall and taking a right.

"You're going the wrong way."

Cortana let out an annoyed sound over the encrypted channel. "I think I know where the nearest station is."

"Trust me," she said simply, turning along the corridor and walking quickly, keeping an eye out. It seemed surprisingly quiet considering the fact that a wall had been melted and Grunts had been screaming just a bit before.

They reached one of the stations they were looking for, passing a few builders who seemed to totally ignore them as they worked to fix some equipment.

"All right, plug me in Chief," Cortana said simply, sounding annoyed that the other woman had been right.

Without a word, the Master Chief pulled Cortana out. He felt a bit strange without her there while he was in his suit. Placing her into the terminal, she began her work. The firewalls were nothing as she quickly sifted and squeezed through, reading everything quickly and discarding information she found no need for. However, she did steal some plans for the ship and tucked them away carefully.

"We have a problem," she said, sounding horrified.

"What is it?"

"They found the location of Earth," she said simply.

[Rex' Notes: Sorry it's short. I'm probably going to end this story shorter than it originally would be. I've just moved onto original fiction with my own characters and worlds. I will go where I planned to with the end of the story like I figure though.


End file.
